Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-10-15

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The pie charts below show how working adults in a particular country spent their time in 1958 and 2008.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

* Note: these aren’t the original diagrams given in the test, they were recreated for the purpose of demonstration.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The pie chart demonstrates how working people of a specific country spent their time in 1958 and 2008.

Working adults spent more time in working in 2008 as compared to 1958, but they have given less time to other other activities like going out with their friends and families and sleeping. However, working people preffered to relax at home more in 2008 as compared to the year 1958 as shown in the pie graphs that people spent 13% of their time relaxing at home in 2008 and only 8% in 1958.

The graphs also show that sleeping has also reduced in 2008 in comparision with 1958. People also spent more time in travelling to work in 2008 as graphs demonstrates 7% in 2008 whereas only 2% in 1958.

After comparing both the pie graphs, we can conclude that working adults in the year 1958 gave more importance to their freinds and families and also to their sleep. Whereas, in 2008, these people have given more time to their work and preffered to relax at home instead of going out with friends and families.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main shifts accurately: working rises from 33% to 42%, while sleeping and going out with friends and family fall, and relaxing at home and commuting increase. The comparison of 13% versus 8% for relaxing and 7% versus 2% for travel is also correct. This gives the response a relevant overview of the broad changes. However, the account is uneven: it does not report the figures for working, sleeping, or socialising, and it omits playing sports, which appears only in 2008 at 7%. The concluding claim that people “gave more importance” to sleep and family is an interpretation rather than a direct description of time use. Include the key figures and cover the new category to make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable sequence: an introduction, comparisons of work and leisure, and a concluding summary. Linking phrases such as “However,” “The graphs also show,” and “After comparing” help signal relationships between ideas. Nevertheless, the progression is not consistently clear because the first body paragraph combines several changes, then the next repeats some of them, and the conclusion restates earlier points. The opening also lacks a separate, concise overview of the most important trends. Some connections are mechanical, and “Whereas” begins a sentence fragment in the final paragraph. Organise the response into a clear introduction, overview, and two focused comparison paragraphs, grouping increases and decreases and using references that make each comparison easy to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing the charts, including “spent,” “reduced,” “comparision,” and “relax at home,” so the main meaning is generally clear. There is some variation in how you refer to the visuals and activities. However, several choices are repetitive or imprecise: “graphs” and “pie graphs” recur, while “given less time to other other activities” is awkward and overgeneralises because some activities increased. Spelling errors such as “preffered,” “freinds,” and “comparision” are noticeable, and “working in working” is an unnatural phrase. Use precise chart language such as “the proportion of the day,” “accounted for,” and “rose/fell,” and check spelling and collocations carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple statements and longer comparisons, including clauses introduced by “as compared to” and “whereas.” Most of the intended meaning can be understood, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “they have given less time” uses an inappropriate present perfect for comparing two past years; “working in working” has faulty construction; and “Whereas, in 2008…” is an incomplete sentence. There are also awkward patterns such as “as graphs demonstrates,” where subject–verb agreement and the article are missing. Use past simple consistently for the chart years, check that each sentence has a complete main clause, and practise accurate comparative structures, for example, “Adults spent a larger share of the day working in 2008 than in 1958.”

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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